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Short Fat Stubby Finger Stories PRESENTS:

The winds turns … it becomes stronger … it becomes more dangerous …

and now it is coming.

Episode 34

While Mary was contemplating what was going on in her life, Rosetta was contemplating, with excited expectations, what was going to happen in her life later that night.  The country air had given everybody at her table a fine appetite, and they all had eaten heartily, but straight after the meal Rosetta announced she was ready to have a long bath before retiring for the night… advising her companions that she would examine the diary in more detail while she was relaxing in the bath and advise them of her findings over breakfast.  The boys both bid her good evening and, as Martin departed to get a drink for Joseph and himself, she reached over to give Joseph a peck on the cheek, and as she did she whispered in his ear that it would be best if he did not arrive before eight thirty.   ‘Enough time for me to ready myself … and the night still to be young’, she had said.

Joseph smiled at her and winked as she left, an action that made her face light up with happiness, and slightly flush with embarrassment at the same time.   To all who may have laid eyes on Joseph at that very moment in time, Joseph would appear to them to be relaxed, sure of himself,  a very self confident man in every sense of the meaning, but on the inside his entire mind and body was shaking in absolute fear of embarrassment and fear.   It had been a long time since he had been in the arms of a woman, and even that had only been momentarily.   Inwardly, Joseph doubted that he had sufficient experience for what Rosetta would expect, for what she deserved … and if that was not enough to put an edge on anything that the night had on offer, the guilt that had accompanied him since he and Rosetta had first met still hovered close to his heart .

   Joseph watched Rosetta as she left the room and sighed.   Though not a loud sigh, it was still loud enough to reach Martin’s ears as he arrived back at the table.

   “What is the matter, old man.   Rosetta giving you a hard time?   Or are you thinking how frustrating this search is turning out to be?”

   “No, just a thought that flashed through my mind.   It’s nothing.   Anyway, there was something about the farm I would like to discuss with you.”

   “Spit it out, old boy.  Have you found a clue that I missed?    Or are the little grey cell beginning to work overtime, to quote Poirot?”

As Joseph and Martin returned their attention to discuss the day’s events they were completely unaware a similar discussion was well and truly underway at Mary’s table.

********

The night had passed quickly for Mary.   Not only had the company been pleasant, but so too the food, the wine … and the exhilarating conversation Laurie had provided.  Laurie had regaled them all with stories of things he had seen and heard of over the years. and the hours had flown before Mary began to realize how extremely tired she was feeling, seriously thinking about calling it a night when Peter James arrived at the table.

“Is the offer of a drink still open?”  He asked.

“Yes.  Please join us.”  Mary replied quickly.

“It has been a busy day at the office,” Peter remarked.   “I will certainly enjoy a drink or two.

“Any thing in particular, Peter?”  Frank Laurie asked out of interest.

“A rash, of all things: nearly half of the village has broken out with it.  It it does not appear to be contagious.   I had over thirty patients, and not one of them had had any physical contact with each other over the past forty eight  hours, and in most cases no other member of the patient’s family had contracted the rash.   But it certainly looks curious enough.   It’s about two inches wide and looks like a red snake with spasmodic black spots dotted along its body.  It travels from the base of the spine in a straight line up the back then splits and spreads sideways, going around the body just under the arm, then travels upwards again till it reaches the bottom of the neck, then  joins up again before spreading up and across the entire length and width of the victim’s neck.    It doesn’t appear to be itchy or dangerous, but certainly looks frightening which is the reason that most patients are worried by it.   All I could do for them all was take blood tests and advise them to drop back the following day if it was still there.   In the meantime I had to prepare a report to accompany the blood tests just in case the results showed something and they wanted more information regarding the volume of patient’s  with the same problem.”

“Do you have any idea what is causing it?”

“Outside of last week’s full moon, or the strange light at Frenchman’s Farm, none whatsoever,” he laughed,   “Mind you, it only started somewhere around midnight according to the victims that were awake when they first noticed it.   The others didn’t realise that they had a the rash until they awoke this morning.   Midnight, isn’t that the witching hour …  a witch’s curse perhaps.”

“Strange, isn’t it … that it should happen just now?” Mary stated caustically.

“Stranger things have happened.”   Doctor James replied in a slightly bewildered tone   “You sound a bit uneasy about something, Miss Cunningham.   What has Laurie here been telling you about me?”

“I have just been telling Mary about your unusual beginnings in medicine.”   Laurie said in a matter-of-fact manner.”

“Now why would you do that, Laurie?  Mary is far too intelligent to believe in hobgoblins and gremlins and great big spooky things.  Aren’t you, Mary?”

His easy smile confused Mary momentarily, but almost immediately afterwards she began to suspect that her original suspicion of a practical joke being contrived between all at that table appeared to be correct.   She had expected the doctor to show disappointment towards Laurie’s disclosure at the very least, if not anger and resentment at his betrayal of obviously what was meant to be a secret between the two men, had Laurie been telling the truth.   But now she very much doubted that to be the case.  Mary was searching for the right words to say in order to assure her hosts that she was not falling for their party tricks when the doctor’s words again threw her off balance.  “Then again, she may have something similar to my experience to share with me.  Is that what it is, Mary, something that you forgot to mention to me earlier today?”

Now Mary became convinced that some sort of conspiracy was taking place and refused to answer.   However, Peter sensed her hesitation and went on with his interrogation.

“I shared something with Laurie because my instinct told me that I could trust him.  If he saw a reason to share that secret with you, then he must have had a very sound reason … and I still trust him.   I know that my story is somewhat unusual, but I don’t understand why you seem quite so upset about it.   So I suspect there is something you are hiding … something connected with what Laurie has told you about my past.   Is that what is upsetting you? ”

“I am not upset.”  Mary blurted out indignantly,   “Well, no, I am upset.   I feel that I am being set up for your amusement.   A bit of country humour, no doubt, and I am not too happy about it.   What happened to me today was not something that I enjoyed, and I have no interest in letting my pains being fodder for your droll, sick sense of humor.  I think I will go up to my room.   I need to get some sleep before I return to London tomorrow.”

Mary began to get up to leave, but Peter’s reflexes automatically swung into action and he managed to gently place his hand on hers and prevent her from doing so.    Mary was shocked by his action and for a moment was in fear of his intentions, but as she saw the shocked and surprised look on his face she relaxed slightly … as he began to apologise.

“I am sorry that you think that way, Mary.   I swear to you, it was never anybody’s intention to make a fool of you.   I have no idea what Laurie has told you, but I would be terribly surprised and disappointed if he had told you anything but the truth.  The fact is I was slightly doubtful about your denial of anything out of the usual happening at garage this morning.   I thought perhaps that was the reason for your being here tonight.”

Mary looked hard at the concerned faces of all that sat at the table.   She thought about Laurie’s explanation of why he had told her what he had, and she made a snap decision, blurting her words out more in relief than intent.   “I saw something in that picture of the farm.  Whatever it was, it tried to kill me.   The cut on my forehead was caused by a knife that it was wielding, and not by the nail that was holding the picture up!”

“Is it possible for you to describe what you saw in detail please, Mary?”

For the second time that evening Mary recounted the morning’s events, fright by fright, and the face of Doctor Peter James went a darker shade of ashen with every word spoken.

There was a deafening silence for several moments while the doctor absorbed this news.  The look of horror on his face was a major concern for all at the table, but none dared ask him the reason for his fear.

Finally, he spoke. “Laurie, did you tell her the whole story that I told you?”

“Yes.”

“You didn’t leave anything out?”

“I don’t believe so.”

“You told her about my wife!  Her family! How I got my practice?”

“Yes.”

“Can you people truly understand the severity of this cult, and the god that they worship?”

“I think so,” Mary responded as Malena and Frank nodded their heads in agreement.

“And do you believe that it really exists.  That people still worship a god that sends them out to kill for it in return for wealth and protection?  Do you believe what you have been told is true?”    His voice quavered, and it was frightening in its intensity.

“I don’t think that we have any reason to disbelieve you.  After what I witnessed today, I would believe anything.” Mary offered, although she was uncertain as to why he was getting so upset.

“I know it is a hard thing to believe, but you truly believe that you saw something in that picture?”

“Yes?”

“And it tried to kill you?  You are absolutely certain that it tried to kill you?”

“Yes!  The look on its face was the most frightening thing I have ever seen.”  Mary shuddered at the thought of the thing she had seen earlier that morning, and the enormity of the day’s events began to sink in for the first time.  Tears started to form around the edges of her eyes and onto her cheeks.

Peter saw the tears, immediately toning down the passion in his voice.  “I am sorry if I frightened you with my reaction, but I am afraid that the horror of what you have just told me temporarily made me lose my manners.   It’s just that … ”  His voice trailed off, as if he was hesitant about saying what he had to say.

“What is it?”  Mary asked, an unknown fear now crawling along the nape of her neck as it made its way towards her wildly beating heart.

“That, that creature that you saw …  that creature … that thing that tried to kill you … that was the Punjaniti.”

********

Go to Episode 35